


Family Meeting

by ElizabethWilde



Series: Blending In [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fix-It, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Mild Angst, Reunions, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-06
Updated: 2014-12-07
Packaged: 2018-02-24 07:24:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2573099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElizabethWilde/pseuds/ElizabethWilde
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Director Coulson has one more meeting to take. He’s not sure he’s ready for it. Or: how the Avengers met Coulson’s team.</p><p>Could be considered a sequel to "The Hole Where You Belong," though it works fine as a stand-alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“It’s your decision now,” May said gently, twisting the tiny black box in her fingers. She set it back down on Coulson’s desk and arched an eyebrow. 

He caught the look and only barely kept from rolling his eyes. “It’s my decision, but if I don’t do it, I’m making the wrong one.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You thought it.”

May only shook her head. “SHIELD’s official position is that telepaths don’t exist.”

“You thought it.”

Her expression softened marginally. “I did. You’ve taken a lot onto your shoulders. You can handle it, but you’ll handle it better with help. SHIELD is in shreds. There isn’t much left. All personal concerns aside, I’d like to have Romanov and Barton on our side at least. We’d be much better off if we also had Rogers, not to mention Stark’s technology. Get Banner putting his head together with Fitz-Simmons and we’ve got a real party.”

Phil would have been lying if he said that he hadn’t been looking for a reason. He knew in retrospect why Fury had wanted to keep things quiet. He knew there still might be a good reason, but he also knew that May didn’t look at him like a walking time bomb anymore, and that was a good sign. Fury trusted him enough to hand SHIELD - such as it was - over to him. “Now all I have to do is trust that I’m not about to get an arrow through an eye socket. Or someplace equally unpleasant.”

“That’s all,” May agreed mildly, a hint of a smile on her lips. “It’s been a long time. Do you feel differently?”

“No. I feel scared and stupid and like I should have done this from the start, to hell with orders. I feel like I’ve been hiding and he’ll know it. I feel like it isn’t fair to expect any of them to understand, least of all-”

“He’s probably going to need to break your nose, but he loves you. You still love him. You said you feel like you’ve been stupid. So stop being an idiot. I know you still have burner phones, Coulson. We all do. Pick one he’ll know and call.” May shook her head and sauntered out of the room with all the confidence of someone who already knew that the argument had gone her way.

Of course she was right. Phil already had a phone in hand and sweaty palms as he dialed in the only number saved to the cell’s card. Just one because it was the only one he’d ever needed. Whatever he’d expected when the phone stopped ringing, it wasn’t a furious voice screaming, “Look, you sick FUCKING asshole, this is not FUCKING-”

“Clint?” The line went completely silent, but Phil knew it wasn’t dead by the ragged breathing.

There was a tremor in the voice that finally came back to him. “Not funny.” The words were almost too quiet to qualify as a proper whisper. “This is not fucking funny. It-”

Phil’s heart broke at the sound of Clint’s voice. He teared up and managed, “I know. I know it isn’t.” The next sound he heard was a hearty sob and the sound of footsteps. Natasha’s voice filtered through in the background, obviously concerned. A string of Russian curses was hurled at Phil before he could stop them. “Agent Romanov!” Again, the line went deathly silent save for the muffled background hum of Clint crying. He would have given absolutely anything in that moment to be there and able to do something about it. 

“If this is a Hydra trick-”

“Then it’s on all of us.” He took a shaky breath. “Please, Natasha, let me talk to him.” He could almost see her face, the tension he knew would be written across her delicate features. “I need to talk to him.”

“You haven’t needed it in months, apparently.” 

Ice practically formed on the phone at the sound of her voice. “Natasha-”

“If SHIELD hadn’t fallen, would you be making this call?”

He’d expected the question, but he’d expected it from Clint. He’d expected it later rather than sooner. Phil faltered, flailed, and tried to find the words to describe why he’d done it. “I had orders. Before you say it, I know that doesn’t mean anything. I know it. That’s why I’m calling now. Would I have called if SHIELD was still SHIELD? I don’t know. I just know that I’m calling now. I want to talk to you both, see you both, but right now, I swear to god that I will muster the tiny, ridiculous strike team at my disposal and send them after you if you don’t put Clint on the phone right now.” Apparently it was the right answer because the sound of Clint’s ragged breathing grew louder. “Clint?”

“You’re alive.”

“Yes.”

“You’ve been alive.”

“Yes.”

“Since the invasion, since-”

“No. Since several days after that. I want to explain, Clint. I don’t know if you really want to hear it.” The thought of that alone made him sick. “I don’t know if you want to see me.” The silence he got in return made Phil’s stomach do another flip, and for a moment he was sorry he had called, but then he thought of Clint’s ragged sob and all the pain he’d caused already, and he wasn’t exactly sorry anymore. “I know I need to see you.”

“For SHIELD?” 

It was hurtful. It stung. He deserved every painful syllable. “For me.”

Clint drew in a shaky breath, let it out. “You still wear it?”

He knew immediately what Clint meant, and he pressed his hand to his chest, feeling the heavy weight of the ring hanging there. “Yes. Around my neck.”

“So that they don’t ask. Whoever you’re with now, so they don’t ask.”

“My team, yes.” Phil knew that would cut deeply, the revelation that he had people beside him and that Clint wasn’t one of those people. He winced, waiting for a reply. 

“You have a team.”

“I have a team.”

“Right. Yeah. Of course.” Despite the bitter words, Clint followed with, “Where?”

“We’ll come to you.”

“Right. I’ll text you coordinates.”

“We’ll be there as soon as we can.” Phil finally let himself breathe even though it hurt. “I love you.” He listened to the seconds clicking by, to the silence. As it turned out, the silence was crueler than the dig from earlier.

“I’ll see you when you get here.” The call ended, and a few minutes later, a text came up with the extraction point. Phil forwarded it to Melinda and then sat, motionless. He had no idea if he was going to live through the next few hours or not.

 

“Wait, so, like, married? Like, for real married?” Skye asked for the hundredth time. “May, seriously, how could he not-”

“How often have you heard Director Coulson talk about his personal life?”

“Apart from never?”

“Exactly.”

Skye looked not the least bit satisfied, but she subsided somewhat. “How could he not tell him, though?”

“I’m guessing that’s a conversation they’ll be having when we land. Possibly very loudly. So what we’re going to do is give them as much privacy as possible. Fitz-Simmons will say their polite hellos and go back to the lab. You will stay here in the cockpit with me once we’ve greeted our guests.” She held up a single finger against the tide of protests the order was drawing forth. “No. If I leave you alone, you’ll eavesdrop. What they need to work out and if they even do work it out is between them.”

“Oh, come on, you can’t tell me you aren’t a little bit tempted to scatter some rose petals around in Coulson’s room and lock them both in there until everybody’s smiling.”

The corner of May’s lips twitched upward. “Let’s see how saying hello goes first.”

 

“I thought you said you’d never go back to Budapest.” 

Natasha smiled faintly, expression strained but not as cold as he’d expected. “Then it was the perfect place to go.” She walked ahead of Clint, protective, shielding him. “Nice plane.”

May stepped forward with a smile that spoke of true pride. “Wait until you see the inside. Care to get the grand tour?” 

The redhead looked back and finally got a vague nod from Clint. “Sure. Waltz me around the dance floor, Agent May.”

The women left together, and Phil realized that no one else had shown up. He wondered exactly when May had decided to keep everyone out of sight. Probably when she saw him at breakfast and he was still staring into his cup of coffee from the night before. Probably once she realized it wasn’t likely to be a happy reunion at all. He knew he looked like hell. Clint did too. Still he stood there staring at his lover like Clint was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his life. Exhausted and rumpled and stressed out and probably sad and angry to boot, he was still beautiful. “Want to come in?” he finally ventured when Clint continued to stand at the bottom of the ramp.

The words shocked him out of his trance, and Clint ascended far enough for Phil to close the door behind him. It was just the two of them standing there, awkward and silent. Phil couldn’t say it was like they were strangers because when they’d been strangers, they’d joked and fought and finally realized they knew each other pretty well. The only thing Phil could think to say was the thing that had been echoing through his head since they got off the phone. “I’m so sorry.”

“You let me think you were dead.”

“I-”

“No, I get to talk now,” Clint cut in firmly. His shoulders were tight with tension, and Phil knew the stubborn, angry glint in his eyes.

“Okay.”

“You let me think you were dead. You let me mourn you. We had a memorial service. I’ve been visiting your fucking grave - which Agent May dug up, by the way, but that’s not even the point. I’ve been living for months thinking you’re fucking dead, Phil.” The words are equal parts furious and appalled. “I’ve been sleeping hugging your fucking pillow and thinking that the only part of my life I really gave a shit about-” Clint broke off, the sadness forcing its way through so suddenly it took even him by surprise. 

Instinct took over, and Phil reached out, grabbing the man’s arm and easing him down to sit on the nearest vehicle - which happened to be Lola. He barely even noticed. 

“You let me think the best part of my life was over, and now it isn’t or maybe it still is and maybe… maybe you’re alive and it’s worse because you let me think you were dead and maybe that means it wasn’t real to begin with and,” there were tears streaming down Clint’s face, but he couldn’t seem to stop the words either, “you just want Tash and me here to help with SHIELD and, Jesus, I don’t think I can do that if we aren’t… if you… I can’t do it. I need to leave and-”

“No! Clint, no… no, god… no.” Phil had given up being subtle and put his hands on Clint’s face, holding it steady between them. “No. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t understand why I wasn’t dead. I listened to orders because I was scared, and then the longer it went on, the more I realized I had no idea what to tell you. I realized you were probably living a new life. You were with the Avengers, and you were living in the tower, and you were fine.”

Clint took another uneasy breath but didn’t try to get away. “I didn’t move into the tower.”

“I thought-”

“Everybody moved into the tower but me. I kept our place. I couldn’t… I couldn’t leave it. That was.. it’s where…” 

Phil ended the uncertain mumbling with a kiss. It was soft and gentle, and he made sure to keep his hands relaxed in case Clint wanted to get away. Instead he felt something shift and suddenly he was being shoved away from Lola and then backward against the side of an SUV. It hurt for a second, but that second passed into true, utter elation as Clint melted against him with a low groan. “I love you,” he panted between kisses. “I will never, ever stop loving you.”

“I love you too. Idiot.” Clint finally smiled as he clutched at the lapels of Phil’s suit jacket with shaking fingers. “Swear to god, if you ever do anything this stupid again, I will kill you myself.”

“You won’t. But I won’t.”

“Okay.” Clint sucked in a breath. “Okay. You’re not done making this up to me by a long shot, but I wanna meet this team so I can figure out exactly who it is I bitterly hate for having been with you all this time while I wasn’t.”

Phil fixed him with a pleading stare. “Clint-”

“Nope, no complaining. I get to hate every last one of them if I want to.”

“You won’t want to.”

Clint sighed. “Yeah, I probably won’t. But I can want to hate them if I- Just introduce me to your damn team, Phil.” He paused and grabbed Phil by the collar. “Wait, one thing.” He felt beneath the collar until he found a slim silver chain and dragged it out, smiling at the sight of the ring there. Clint unfastened the chain and pulled the ring off, only hesitating when he held Phil’s hand in his. “Can I?” he asked thickly.

Phil found himself smiling back. “Of course. Always said I’d marry you all over again if I had the chance.”

 

Shoulders sagging with relief, Clint slipped the slim white gold band onto Phil’s finger and blinked away sudden tears. “Okay.”

It felt as if the last open slot in his life was suddenly filled. Phil grabbed his husband and kissed him soundly before agreeing, “Okay, let’s meet the team.” He wasn’t particularly surprised to find everyone gathered in the common room. He was surprised that the team did such a good job not making a huge scene when they saw him walk in hand and hand with Clint. “Everybody, this is Clint Barton. My husband.”

Skye shot up from her seat first, grinning. “Way to go, A.C.! He’s cute.” 

Clint arched an eyebrow at Phil. “A.C.?”

“I tried to talk her out of it.”

“It’s cool,” Skye insisted, falling back into her seat and rolling her eyes. “Or are you about to try to tell me your husband isn’t cool?”

That brought a fresh smile to Clint’s face. “Her I like.” He gave a nod to May. She wasn’t exactly new. “And the pretty one… Simmons, right? I heard about you. Well, about-”

“Fitz-Simmons. Yes, sir.” The young woman swallowed hard and tried to smile. “Fitz is… he’s… well, he’s recovering as well as can be expected.”

Clint nodded solemnly in return. “Tash said one of yours was Hydra.”

Natasha shifted in her seat and met Phil’s gaze for the first time without any apparent sign of anger. “Grant Ward.”

Skye flinched at the name, and the rest of them just looked alternately uncomfortable or sad. It was Phil who spoke up. “He had us all fooled. Garrett too, for that matter. I’d known the man for decades.” He felt Clint’s hand tighten around his, and the sensation alone healed more wounds than a hundred therapy sessions could have. “We’re rebuilding.”

May tilted her head. “Did he happen to mention that he’s the director now?”

Clint’s eyes went slightly wide, and he stared hard at the man next to him. “Director?”

Slowly Phil nodded. “Director.”

“Holy shit! Wait, damn, I guess that doesn’t mean a raise anymore, huh? Shit.” Teasing aside, Clint looked more than a little pleased, and that was a relief too. “I’m proud of you. Also, I’m expecting favors. Perks.”

“As soon as we have more than three secure bases and a few dozen agents, I’ll get right on that.”

“You’d better.” 

“There’s no money, barely any weapons, but there’s always sexual favors.” Skye glanced up from her phone to find all eyes on her and blanched. “That was out loud. Yeah. Sorry.” 

“Sir, I’ll start heading us back to the Hub. You two should spend some time catching up. I’m sure Agent Romanov can find something to entertain herself.” 

“Absolutely, Sir,” Natasha agreed smoothly. “I’m sure you boys have a lot to talk about.”

Clint snorted. “Absolutely. Right now, though, I think that one,” he jabbed a finger toward Skye, “makes a really good point about the sexual favors.”

“Shut up, Barton.”

“Love you too, Sir.”


	2. Chapter 2

Stark showed up at the Hub as if he’d been expected all along instead of having dropped in a half hour after the bus landed without a word of notice. He had apparently called in the calvary unannounced as well because over the course of an hour, Bruce Banner arrived followed by Steve with Sam Wilson in tow. It was almost worth the strangeness of it for Coulson to be greeted with a warm smile and a firm handshake by the supersoldier. The look of relief on the man’s face spoke volumes and was enough to make him feel honestly guilty for leaving the team in the dark.

Less willing to play nice as always, Tony tipped his glasses low, kicked his feet up on a table, and challenged, “So you were just gonna hide out until - what? - the world stopped falling apart? Because that’s what it does. Regularly. I set my watch by it.”

“It had more to do with potential complications. I’m still not sure whether I’ve over or under-estimated that potential.” Clint was hanging back, giving him room to talk to the team without any distractions, but he was constantly aware of his husband’s presence. The gentle reassurance of it left Coulson almost giddy with relief. It was more than enough to take the sting out of dealing with a petulant Tony Stark. “Agent May,” he nodded the woman currently sharing a couch with Natasha, “was assigned to keep an eye on me.”

Steve nodded his understanding and shifted his gaze to May, effectively cutting Tony out of the loop for a moment. “And?”

“And so far we’re fine, Captain,” she answered. “As soon as we aren’t, you’ll know.” 

The calm tone of the woman’s answer seemed to set Steve at ease. He relaxed visibly and introduced Sam around politely before explaining, “We got word to Thor, but he’s busy in Asgard. He was-”

“He was loudly pleased,” Tony supplied, wincing at the memory. “Very loudly. Pretty sure I ruptured an eardrum.”

Clint snorted and chose that moment to finally join the conversation. “Send ‘im the medical bills. Not that you can’t afford it. It’s the principle of the thing.”

“I knew I liked you, Barton, even if your taste in men is lacking.” 

Steve shot the man a warning look, “Tony-”

“He’s dating above his station,” Sam broke in casually. “Seriously, Stark, you should be giving him a pat on the back.”

That broke any tension with a bark of laughter from Clint as he slung his arms around Coulson’s waist from behind and gave him a hug. “Wilson’s got a point. I’m out of my league here.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Natasha agreed. “He’s slumming, to be completely honest. Phil, I know some lovely guys I could fix you up with now that I know you’re breathing.”

“Something tells me my husband would mind.”

Natasha flipped her hair back over her shoulder and shrugged, unruffled. “Doesn’t sound like my problem.”

Skye tried and failed to hide her grin. “I like her. A lot.”

It was Tony who brought things around once more to the least comfortable subject on the table. He had raided the bar almost at once and held a glass of whiskey casually in one hand. “So, the new team… seems like you hit most of the highlights. There was the blond one that’s busy being half dead now,” Tony kept talking over Steve’s warning repetition of his name, “who I suppose was your replacement for my vast talent. There’s the crazy Hydra one who was the best you could do for Clint. In less depressing news, there’s the hot Asian version of Natasha.” 

While Tony grinned widely at May, Natasha inclined her head to regard the woman as well. “If you’re the alternate reality version of me, does that mean we create some sort of temporal anomaly if we make out?”

Tony made an entirely undignified sound almost like he was choking, and Clint oggled the pair with obvious fascination. “Oh, you have got to do that now,” the archer demanded. He dodged a smack to the back of his head from Coulson and knelt at Natasha’s feet. “Please? I’ll consider it my birthday present.”

May rested behind Natasha’s back and leaned in as if about to comply before arching a single eyebrow at Clint. “Do you really think I like you that much?”

He groaned and fell back onto the floor. “No.”

“For once you’re right, Barton.”

Tony groaned in sympathy. “This… you people are awful. All of you. Especially,” he pointed at Natasha, “you. Anyway, as I was saying, that means the pretty little English girl is Bruce, and, no offense to you, Banner, but she’s got you beat by a mile. Do you see her? Adorable.”

Bruce turned red and spread his hands in silent agreement, which led to Simmons blushing just as furiously. “They do seem to have perfected the biochemist slot, yes.”

The young woman ducked her head and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Well, I don’t know about that, but… thank you. Both of you,” Simmons added when she realized she’d been staring rather intently at Bruce while she spoke. 

Tony grinned at her and gave Bruce a knowing look before he pointed both fingers at Skye. “This one? She’s… she’s a mess if her files are all right, and since you did the paperwork, Agent - excuse me, Director - I know it’s right. Loud mouth, annoying, technological genius… so I guess you’re me too. It makes sense that it would take two people to make one me.” The matter decided in Tony’s mind, he waved a hand dismissively at Coulson. “You’re Cap. Naturally. So the gang’s all here. You did good, I guess, even if you only bothered to really upgrade one of us.”

“Thank you, Mr. Stark. I was honestly worried you might not approve.” Coulson’s tone dripped with sarcasm. “As for the team, they were each selected because they were the best fit based on what I knew about them.”

Sky flinched and withdrew visibly, tapping away at her phone to try to hide the shadow that passed over her face at the obvious allusion to Ward. As it turned out, even Coulson couldn’t know everything about everyone.

Clint had finally pulled himself up off the floor and drifted in to stand next to Coulson again. “You did good,” he assured, nudging his husband with an elbow. 

“I agree,” Steve chimed in firmly, gaze daring Tony to challenge the words. “I’m honored to get the chance to meet all of you.”

May took the initiative in breaking the ice next. “And working with us, Captain?”

It was Steve’s turn to look uncertain. “I don’t… I’m not sure.” The look he gave Phil was apologetic, but he gave a slight shake of his head. “I’m figuring some things out.”

“Looking for Sergeant Barnes,” Tony amended, shrugging when Steve shot him a warning look. “Hey, didn’t say it was a bad idea. Right now he’s… that’s a bad scene. If you can make it less bad, I’m thinking you looking for him’s pretty solid, strategy-wise.”

Steve looked surprised, but his expression softened from warning to gratitude. “I need to do it. Once I find him-”

“Once we find him.” Sam smiled and put a hand on the man’s shoulder. “You aren’t in this alone, buddy.”

“Right. Once we find him, then I can decide what the next step is.” He took a slow breath and asked, “How does SHIELD feel about potentially reformed HYDRA agents who may be heavily conditioned to kill most of their coworkers?”

Coulson didn’t miss a beat. “We feel that beggars can’t be choosers, and if we can get James Barnes on our side, we’re happy to have him.” He watched the tension drain from Steve’s shoulders. “We may not have access to the kind of tech we did before, but we still have good people and decent resources. If we can help deprogram him, we’ll do it - whether you want to stick around afterwards or not.”

“It would be a fascinating project.” Simmons looked horrified when she realized she’d spoken the words out loud. “Scientifically, I mean. I’ll… excuse me, I’m just going to stop talking again now.”

Grinning, Skye reminded the room, “One of our top minds.”

Steve, always polite, simply replied, “I have every faith that you’d be of great help if we’re able to bring him in, Dr. Simmons.”

“And if you want the help,” Bruce added quietly, polishing his glasses on his shirttail, “you’ve got it. Mental conditioning isn’t exactly my specialty, but between the two of us…. well, I’ve read some of your papers. I’d be honored to have the chance to work together.”

Even through the blushing and stammering, it was easy to see how pleased Simmons was by the idea. “Thank you, Dr. Banner. Any help you have to offer would be very much appreciated. Any time, actually, not just… well, anytime.”

“Oh, for heaven’s…” Tony rolled his eyes. “Coffee. The two of you are having coffee tomorrow. Honestly, do I have to do everything around here? Hush, no talking. It’s done. You have a date. You’re welcome.”

Skye leaned forward, awed by the fact that neither Simmons nor Bruce were protesting being manhandled into a date. “Teach me your ways, Stark.” She jumped slightly at the feeling of May’s hand on her shoulder. “Aw, c’mon-”

“I’m your S.O., and I am not authorizing any training from Tony Stark. Ever. Under any circumstances.”

Skye pouted but leaned back in her chair. “Fine. But this is why we can’t have nice things.” She tapped away on her phone for a second and smiled when she heard the snort from Tony on the other side of the room that meant he’d gotten the message. “I think everyone should be happy that Stark and I are trying to make this blended family thing work.” She was too busy texting to notice the baleful stare from Coulson.

Clint shrugged and slung an arm around his husband’s shoulders. “I think she’s right. Weird part, though? I’m pretty sure May’s still the mom. I am definitely not responsible enough to be a parent.”

“That, once again, is putting it very mildly,” Natasha agreed. The woman stretched and rose, sauntering over to stand by May behind Skye’s chair. She plucked the cell phone from Skye’s hands without comment. “So, this bus have beds for the night? Now that we’re done chatting, I intend to drink a good deal of vodka, and while I am capable of functioning well even under the influence,” Natasha punctuated the words by snapping the battery off of the back of Skye’s cell and slipping it into her pocket, “I’d rather not.”

May stepped in smoothly. “I’ll show you the way. The bunks aren’t anything special, but it should be comfortable for temporary housing.”

“Not special? I’m pretty sure I rate something special,” Stark protested loudly as he tossed back the rest of the scotch and rose from his seat.

Steve put a reassuring hand on the man’s shoulder as they followed May down the hall. “You’ll survive, Tony.”

Coulson watched them go, his new team and the Avengers chatting and interacting as though it was the most natural thing in the world. “I feel like I just got hit by a truck.”

“You did. Stark showed up.” With everyone gone, Clint took the opportunity to brush a kiss against Coulson’s neck. “You gonna show me your bunk now? Been awhile. A long while.” He waited a beat. “Seriously, I need to get laid.”

“You’re a romantic.”

“I am. I would’ve said fucked if I wasn’t a romantic.”

“Come on, Prince Charming, my room is this way.”

“We’ll have to be quiet. Don’t wanna wake the kids.”

“Keep talking and you’ll need to follow May to find a place to sleep for the night.”

“Whatever you say. Just don’t blame me if Stark is fussy in the morning.”


End file.
